Food Americana, David Page
Food Americana, David Page
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Food Americana
The Remarkable People and Incredible Stories behind America's Favorite Dishes

Author: David Page

Narrator: Jonathan Yen

Unabridged: 7 hr 16 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 04/13/2021

Categories: Nonfiction, Cooking


Synopsis

What is American cuisine? What national menu do we share? What dishes have we chosen, how did they become "American," and how are they likely to evolve from here? In Food Americana, David Page answers all these questions and more.

America is more than just a fast food nation. Food Americana is the inside story of how generations of Americans have formed a national cuisine with tastes from all over the world. Fried chicken was a distinctly southern dish—now it's the Sunday night special at the Chateau Marmont Hotel in Hollywood. A Utah restaurant won Maine's annual Best Lobster Roll competition. And perhaps the ultimate all-American dish, pizza, is served up in thirty different styles, a total of three billion pies a year, an average of twenty-three pounds for each of us.

Food Americana is an engaging and entertaining combination of food culture and pop culture, nostalgia and the newest food obsessions. Creating Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives and hands-on producing its first eleven seasons gave food journalist David Page an appetite for the world of American food. It is that experience, the discoveries of little-known stories and facts, that led him to dig even deeper and tie the strands together now.

About David Page

Two-time Emmy winner David Page changed the world of food television by creating, developing, and executive-producing the groundbreaking show Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. Before that, as a network news producer based in London, Frankfurt, and Budapest, he traveled Europe, Africa, and the Middle East doing two things-covering some of the biggest stories in the world, and developing a passion for some of the world's most incredible food.

Page walked through Checkpoint Charlie into East Berlin the night the Berlin wall opened, but his favorite memory of the eastern side before reunification remains the weisswurst sold under the S-Bahn elevated train. He was first served couscous by Moammar Khaddafy's kitchen staff while waiting in a tent to interview the dictator in Libya. Blood oranges at a three a.m. breakfast with Yasser Arafat. Wild boar prosciutto in Rome. Bouillabaisse in Marseille. Cheese pies in Tbilisi. Venison in Salzburg. Nonstop caviar in Moscow. He even managed to slip a few food features in between the headline stories, such as a profile of Germany's leading food critic, which turned out not to be the oxymoron one might assume.

Once back in the states, Page has pursued his passion both personally and professionally. Show-producing Good Morning America, he was involved in a substantial amount of food coverage, including cooking segments by Emeril Lagasse. Creating Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives and hands-on producing its first eleven seasons took him deep into the world of American food-its vast variations, its history, its evolution, and especially the dedicated cooks and chefs keeping it vibrant. His next series, the syndicated Beer Geeks, dove deep into the intersection of great beer and great food. It is those experiences, that education, the discovery of little-known stories and facts that led Page to dig even deeper and tie the strands together in Food Americana.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Deb (Readerbuzz) on June 20, 2023

David Page takes a deep dive into the history and development of America's favorite foods including pizza, chicken, Chinese food, Mexican food, hamburgers, and ice cream. Each section is full of fascinating stories, and Page takes time to visit places that are considered the best at preparing each di......more

Goodreads review by Lisa of Hopewell on May 20, 2021

3.5 My Interest This sounded like a fun, foodie treat! It was available in audio on Net Galley so I took it. The Story Food-TV personality Dave Page takes us on a culinary tour of America’s favorite foods. Barbecue, burgers, sushi, Chinese food, ice cream, pizza, and more–all the stuff Americans love to......more

Goodreads review by Rennie on June 08, 2023

3.5. I absolutely love books like this, that highlight the specialness of what American cuisine is and the unique blend of cultures and regions it encompasses. I mention it often but something I heard all the time when I lived abroad full time was that there is no such thing as an American cuisine (......more

Goodreads review by Jessica on April 16, 2021

Food Americana is a romp through a handful of popular American foodstuffs. We have chapters on pizza, hamburgers, barbecue, sushi, Chinese-American food, lobster & oysters, fried chicken, and ice cream. These are all foods that may have roots elsewhere on the globe, but that have found themselves be......more